Peters switch paying off for UNH football

DURHAM — The University of New Hampshire football team was so deep at running back it could afford to move leading rusher Dontra Peters to defense this season.

Al Pike

DURHAM — The University of New Hampshire football team was so deep at running back it could afford to move leading rusher Dontra Peters to defense this season.

Through six games, that decision has worked out well for both sides. For the third time in four weeks, the Wildcats have rushed for more than 300 yards and Peters leads the team in interceptions.

Led by sophomore Nico Steriti, who went over 100 yards for the third time in four games in Saturday's 44-21 win over Georgia State, the ground game has been particularly impressive of late.

Steriti, who was named CAA offensive player of the week, scored three touchdowns against the Panthers, two rushing and one receiving.

"Nico is an explosive back," coach Sean McDonnell said during Monday's CAA teleconference. "He did a good job getting yards after contact. He's got great vision and he explodes through the holes pretty well."

Holes opened up by an offensive line that features seniors Chris Zarkoskie and Mickey DiLima, junior Seamus O'Neill, and sophomores Mike Coccia and Rob Bowman.

UNH leads the Colonial Athletic Association in rushing, is averaging 6 yards a carry as a team and has scored 16 touchdowns on the ground. Steriti is averaging 91.7 yards a game to lead the CAA.

"(Steriti) can run and catch," McDonnell said. "He's a good football player and he's getting better all the time."

Steriti and redshirt freshman Jimmy Owens, who also gained more than 100 yards against Georgia State, are both averaging 7.6 yards per attempt for the season.

"I saw a pretty good effort on both sides of the ball," McDonnell said about Saturday's game. "I thought we did a nice job establishing the run."

The Wildcats have piled up 1,209 yards on the ground in the last four games with a high of 389 against Old Dominion.

That sort of production has taken some of the pressure off quarterback Andy Vailas and enabled Peters to play defense full-time where he's helped bolster a thin cornerback position.

The Wildcats toyed with the idea of having him play offense and defense, but both sides of the ball have benefited from the move.

The defense has had two strong outings in a row to help the Wildcats win back-to-back games for the first time this season.

"One of the things I thought we were able to do (Saturday) was get pressure on the quarterback," McDonnell said, "and that gave us an opportunity to create some turnovers. I thought our guys did a good job running to the football and when they got there they did a good job getting it out."

UNH outgained Georgia State, 624-299, and the defense forced five turnovers. Defensive tackle Jared Smith returned after missing time with a knee injury.

He had two sacks and forced a fumble.

"Jared Smith came back and played like himself," McDonnell said. "That was big for us."

Vailas threw four touchdown passes Saturday to four different receivers giving him 11 TD passes in the last four games.

He's second in the CAA with 13 touchdown passes.

"Andy Vailas continues to get better," McDonnell said. "He did some good things Saturday getting the ball to the right people in the right places."

The Wildcats improved to 4-2 overall and 2-1 in the CAA. They host Richmond on Saturday (noon) before trips to Maine and Rhode Island the following two weeks.

After playing six of its first nine games on the road, UNH ends the season with back-to-back home games against William & Mary and Towson.

Richmond (4-2, 2-1 CAA) is coming off a 28-17 win at Villanova.

"We've played some very good games on the road against some good teams," McDonnell said 10. "It's so important to win on the road in this league. We'll know over the next few weeks what we're made of."

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Redshirt freshman Sean Goldrich made his first appearance at quarterback since Week 2 when he hurt his shoulder on the Wildcats' second play from scrimmage against Minnesota.

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